The AMCL/ASC Conference will begin in a joint gathering with the Moderators' Conference on October 13 for worship, plenaries, dinner and fellowship. The individual conferences will reconvene on October 14, with the AMCL/ASC Conference participants gathering for Bible study, community building and workshops.

Often, we feel lost in the woods. In these challenging times for the church, we are all struggling to understand this strange topography and new landscape. What we do know is that our way forward involves living between polarities: Following vs. Leading and Building vs. Growing.

Plenary 1: Leading and Following

Plenary 2: Building and Growing

We are delighted that the Rev. Dr. Ken McFayden will be our guide as plenary and workshop leader, and the Rev. Dr. Holly Inglis will lead From the Roots Up Bible Study.

Dr. Ken McFayden, Ph.D. serves as Academic Dean and Professor of Ministry and Leadership Development at Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, Virginia, and teaches courses in the areas of congregational leadership and administration. In addition to his teaching and administrative roles, he has served as keynote speaker on the topic of leadership and change in a variety of settings. He has conducted numerous workshops and consultations on effective leadership practices, and in team development, strategic planning, and conflict management. He is author of Strategic Leadership for a Change: Facing Our Losses, Finding Our Future (2009), and a contributor to the Being Reformed curriculum on Transformational Leaders.

Prior to joining the seminary faculty in March of 2000, he served as Executive Director of North Central Career Development Center in New Brighton, MN from 1994-2000. Previously, he served as a hospital chaplain in Louisville, KY from 1991-1994, and as an associate pastor in Alliance, OH from 1986-1990. He is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA).

Rev. Dr. Holly Inglis is the Associate Pastor for Community and Connection at Palms Church in Jacksonville Beach, and is the president of the Association of Church Educators (APCE). She was the keynote speaker for the APCE 2015 conference. She is the author ofSticky Learning: How Neuroscience Supports Teaching That’s Remembered.